Sunday 7 June 2009 19.04 EDT
First published on Sunday 7 June 2009 19.04 EDT

Tiger Woods warmed up for next week's US Open with victory in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Golf Village in Ohio last night after a final-round 65 gave him a one-stroke victory over his Ryder Cup colleague Jim Furyk.

Woods started the day four strokes behind the overnight leaders Mark Bettencourt and Mark Wilson but they slipped out of contention with rounds of 75 and 73, respectively, as the world No1 earned the 67th PGA Tour title of his career, his fourth at the Memorial and his second since returning to the game after undergoing knee surgery.

Woods finished with a 12-under-par total of 276, including an eagle at the par-five 11th, and consecutive birdies on the final two holes. Woods's late charge reined in Jonathan Byrd, who had held a two-shot lead with six to play, and also edged out Furyk, whose 69 was one of only three sub-70 rounds among the top 10.

Woods was met at the final green by the 14-times major champion Jack Nicklaus, who described Woods's finish as "unbelievable".

Woods himself was more reserved: "It was just about being patient," the 33-year-old said. "It was a matter of time because I was able to start practising after rounds again, and I had only been doing that for a couple of tournaments. I knew it was coming around."

Woods hit a perfect 14 of 14 fairways in Sunday's final round. "The driving this week was nice," he said. "It was coming. It was just a matter of time. I finally put it together this week."Luke Donald, whose opening round of 64 was the lowest of the week, finished in a tie for 14th after a disappointing 74. The Swede Daniel Chopra also finished with a total of 286 to tie Donald for leading European.

The US Open begins a week on Thursday at Bethpage State Park, in Farmingdale, New York.